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CU Buffs AD Rick George works to shuffle football schedule as team returns to practice

Colorado unlikely to play this weekend

By Kyle Ringo Buffzone.com

Posted:
09/16/2013 03:37:57 PM MDT

Updated:
09/16/2013 09:50:15 PM MDT

New CU athletic director Rick George visits with fans during the pre-game tailgate before the CSU game in Denver.
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CLIFF GRASSMICK
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The Colorado football team returned to the practice fields Monday morning after three days off because of historic flooding in Boulder that postponed Saturday's game against Fresno State.

CU had no news to report regarding a possible makeup date for the Fresno State game but athletic director Rick George continues to work in tandem with Pac-12 Conference administrators to find a solution.

One scenario that was discussed but ultimately discarded was for Cal to come to Boulder this week instead of Nov. 16. The Buffs already had this week scheduled as a bye before the flooding. Cal coming to Boulder this week would have allowed Fresno State to come to Folsom Field on Nov. 16 when it has a bye.

“I don't think so at this point,” George said when asked Monday afternoon if he believed the Buffs would play this week.

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George said he is juggling multiple scenarios involving numerous teams. He said CU is exploring every option, including not playing Fresno State at all this season and replacing the Bulldogs with a different opponent.

“We haven't moved beyond that,” George said of focusing on trying to reschedule Fresno State. “That would be our priority to get Fresno State.

“…We have to look at all of them collectively and figure out which one is going to be the right way for us.”

Colorado could replace Fresno State on the schedule with a team from the Football Championship Subdivision during its Oct. 19 open date. Doing so might be the easiest fix of all.

The Buffs have already played one FCS team this season in Central Arkansas and could only count one win over an FCS team toward the six it needs to qualify for a bowl game. Given the extraordinary circumstances and the fact that CU is working with the NCAA and the Pac-12 to try to reschedule the Fresno State game first, it's possible the Buffs could get a waiver from the NCAA to be bowl eligible if it won at least six games with two of those victories coming against FCS teams.

If CU was not able to reschedule with Fresno State or find another opponent and had to settle for playing an 11-game schedule, the NCAA could provide a waiver for the Buffs to be bowl eligible if they were able to win five games. The NCAA has established precedent in the past for teams with losing records following conference championship game losses to still play in bowl games.

George said he is uncertain when a solution could come, but the issue is at the top of his priority list until it is solved. He said he is confident the Buffs will be able to play a 12-game season.

Meanwhile, the Buffs treated Monday's session as a normal bye-week practice focusing on improving their deficiencies with no game plan installed for the next opponent -- Oregon State on Sept. 28 (1 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Network).

“As a coaching staff, of course we're working on Oregon State, but we've got a lot of fundamentals and a lot of things to work to improve on,” coach Mike MacIntyre said. “So you kind of get back to a little bit of that.”

MacIntyre said the Buffs had a ‘compete day' at Monday's practice and will have another one Tuesday. He said practice was full speed and much like a scrimmage with players "trying not to make a ton of piles."

Classes also resumed for the Buffs and MacIntyre said he was happy to start to get back to normal after a calamitous three days in which 10 of his players were forced out of their apartments because of flooding, structural issues or lack of water or power. Those 10 players are staying in hotel rooms for now, which is allowed under NCAA rules.

MacIntyre said he initially believed only eight of his players had been impacted to the point that they needed new places to stay, but when the team worked together Saturday to feed flood victims and first responders at Folsom Field, he learned two more players had housing problems from the flooding.

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